The Notebook is the scourge of boyfriends across the world. Nick Cassavetes' syrupy and overlong romance is a two-hour odyssey of love letters, kissing in the rain and the torture of separation. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams take centre stage as a couple in the 1940s who fall in love, but the real emotion is to be found in the present day tale of nursing home resident James Garner telling the story to a fellow care home resident. Of course, these two are actually the elderly versions of Gosling and McAdams. Allie is suffering from dementia in her old age and only remembers Noah during her rare moments of lucidity. One night, they fall asleep together and are discovered the next day. They have died peacefully in their sleep together. It's touching to see these two people who had suffered such hardship trying to get to each other finally getting that chance in death. That notion is far more appealing on paper than it is at the end of what is something of a cinematic endurance test.
Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.
